For No Dollars More

Currently I’m not just cheap labour – I am free labour.

I try not to let it worry me though and reassure myself with the fact that I am useless so they’re still not getting value-for-money from me.

Apparently the way it works for Ministry of Health hangers on like me (unlike the real health workers who are paid directly) is that VSO invoice the Ministry for my time, the ministry pay the invoice and then VSO pay me. This is the theory.

In practice the Ministry is notoriously late at paying (so notorious that very few places will even accept MoHSS purchase orders) and of course I’m assuming VSO have invoiced them in the first place.

During our first in-country training there was a section on finance and we were told it was the Ministry of Education that was late in paying. Turns out my education colleagues are rolling in endless cash.

Still, thanks to a financial transfer from the UK while I was still toying with buying a car I’m not quite on skid row yet.

And there are always the travellers’ cheques to fall back upon should I wish to rile Bank Windhoek up and begin the long-winded process of bluff and counter-bluff required to get them cashed.